Amazon Reminds Nook Buyers That the Fire Will Have Netflix, Too

So this is an Amazon press release worth reposting: Confirmation that when the Kindle Fire ships next week, it will give users the ability to install apps from Netflix and Pandora, among others.

No surprise there — Netflix and Pandora are two of the four apps Amazon talked up at the Fire’s rollout event (along with Facebook and Twitter).

But it’s worth reminding folks that the tablet will work with third-party video and music services, because those are the same two services that Barnes & Noble referred to, over and over, when it unveiled its own Nook tablet this week.

Anecdotally, that seems to have been an effective ploy — lots of folks I’ve talked with about the two tablets are under the impression that Amazon won’t have Netflix, because Netflix is a rival to Amazon’s in-house service. That said, the Nook will have access to Hulu Plus, and the Fire doesn’t (for now).

The Nook and the Fire are also on equal footing when it comes to Google’s Android Market — users won’t be able to shop there using either device, even though both tablets are built using Android. Barnes & Noble was upfront about this earlier this week; Amazon doesn’t spell it out but makes it clear via the release below, which says Fire users will be able to use “several thousand of the most popular Android apps.”

Press release excerpt:

Facebook, Pandora, Netflix, Rhapsody, Games from Electronic Arts, Zynga and Rovio, and Several Thousand More Apps and Games Coming To Kindle Fire Next Week

Just like with movies and TV shows, music, books, and magazines, Kindle Fire offers a fully-integrated Android apps and games experience – purchase or register for an app or game once, enjoy it on your Kindle Fire and other Android-based devices – and all apps and games are backed up in the Amazon Cloud for re-download anytime

SEATTLE – November 9, 2011 (NASDAQ: AMZN) – When Kindle Fire customers across the country open their boxes next week, they will be able to choose from several thousand of the most popular Android apps and games, including Netflix, Rhapsody, Pandora, Twitter, Comics by comiXology, Facebook, The Weather Channel and popular games from Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap and Rovio. Kindle Fire customers will be able to download these apps and games without having to register multiple times and using Amazon’s simple and secure 1-Click payment technology. Plus, all apps are Amazon-tested on Kindle Fire for the best experience possible, customers can get a great “paid” app for free every day, and once you’ve downloaded an app from the Amazon Appstore, it’s available on Kindle Fire as well as your other Android-based devices.

“We started talking to app developers everywhere the day we introduced Kindle Fire, and the response has been overwhelming,” Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “In addition to over 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, and magazines from Amazon, we are excited to offer customers thousands of apps and games to choose from on Kindle Fire – from Pandora and Rhapsody to Facebook and Twitter to Netflix, as well as popular games from EA, Zynga and many other top game developers. And this is only the beginning – we’re adding more apps and games every day across all categories.”

With the Netflix app, Kindle Fire customers who are Netflix members can browse and instantly watch unlimited TV shows and movies and resume watching where they left off on their TV or computer. “We’re excited to team up with Amazon to give what we think will be a huge community of Kindle Fire owners the opportunity experience all that Netflix has to offer,” said Bill Holmes, Vice President of Business Development at Netflix. “We’re certain that our members will have a great viewing experience on Kindle Fire.”

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